Why is Armenia increasing violence on line of contact?

Armenia's armed forces have been very active over the past several days keeping contact lines separating them from Azerbaijani troops active, and hot.

On the first night of August Armenians killed eight Azeri soldiers. And on the second night they killed four more soldiers of the Azerbaijan armed forces.

To be perfectly correct we should say the Armenians have been keeping contact lines hotter than the norm. The "norm" in this instant is around 60 to 80 violations of the ceasefire every day. Yes, you heard correctly, 60 and 80 violations daily.
It is mystifying and totally unclear why.

The Armenians are playing this game and what they hope to achieve from it other than further complicate relations with their neighbors Azerbaijan and next door Turkey a major contender in the region and an important regional power to contend with. And of course Turkey is a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan.

Armenia's only friend in the region is Russia - granted, Russia an important political weight in the Caspian and South Caucasus region, however Russia faces its own set of problems, not least of which are the renewed sanctions applied by the United States and the European Union as punishment for its dealing in Ukraine and in the Crimea.

Armenia would benefit much more if it were to accept a more civilized approach to solving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute amicably and through negotiations. Armenia and the people of Armenia, who are currently suffering due to a poor economy, high unemployment and little prospects for a brighter future any time soon, would find it very beneficial to try a peaceful approach to resolving this crisis, and sitting down at the negotiation table with the Azerbaijanis, albeit with the support of the Minsk Group's U.S., Russian and French co-chairmen.

The very last thing the world needs today is yet another major confrontation. With wars raging in nearby Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and further down in the Gaza Strip, a renewal of violence on a major scale in the South Caucasus is a very bad idea and one from with no one will profit.

Claude Salhani is a political analyst and senior editor with Trend Agency.
Follow him at on Twitter @ClaudeSalhani